This tuna and cottage cheese salad has been my favourite jacket potato topping this spring. It’s the perfect pairing for warmer weather with its cool, creamy cottage cheese, fresh, crisp celery and tinned sweetcorn all lifted with bright, oniony chives. I also love that it’s high in protein and other nutrients.
The recipe is for a family of four, but in the notes I have also given the recipe for just two servings, incase that suits you better. As I work from home, I often make just two servings for two days worth of lunches for myself.
If you have a toddler, weaning baby or fussy eater and are wondering how to adapt this Tuna and Cottage Cheese Baked Potato for your family, see here >
The Stars of my Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato
The Potato
Go for large baking potatoes, and you can cook them however you usually do. I only bake mine in the air-fryer these days, so I have put instructions for that in the recipe if you need it.
Tuna
You can either use tinned tuna in spring water or no drain tuna. I have added the weight for both in the recipe. In the UK, always look for the blue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) stamp to ensure the tuna is verified as sustainable. 
Cottage Cheese
I always use full fat cottage cheese because that has the highest amount of protein and nutrients. If you are dieting, you can use a low fat cottage cheese if you prefer. If you are sharing with a weaning baby or toddler stick to full fat cottage cheese as they need the extra nutrition.
Celery
Do not skip this ingredient! Baked potato, tuna and cottage cheese are all soft in texture, so you need some crunch and freshness in there to balance it out. Avoid buying pre-cut celery sticks and instead buy a whole celery, as pre-cut celery sticks will tend to be too short.
Sweetcorn
You want to use tinned sweetcorn here. If you use frozen sweetcorn that you’ve cooked and cooled, it’s not going to have the same crispness about it.
Chives
Chives go so well with the tangy-ness of cottage cheese. They also compliment the tuna and add an oniony edge to this jacket potato salad topper. Be sure to use fresh chives though, dried just won’t do here!
FAQ’s For My Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato
How much protein is in this meal?
Due to the cottage cheese and the tuna fish, it’s got a high protein content of 33g per adult serving. You’ll want to stick to full fat cottage cheese, as fat-free has less protein and nutrients in it.
Can I prepare this Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato in advance?
Yes, you can. The salad itself will keep in the fridge for 2 days. I often make it and eat it over two days myself. Obviously, you’ll want to cook the baked potato right when you want to eat it.
Can I feed more people with this recipe?
You certainly can! Just use the scale up buttons top right of the recipe ingredients.
The recipe is for 4 servings, can I make less?
Yes, if you look at the recipe notes, you will find the quantities for 2 servings, which can do enough for two adults or one adult over two meals. If you are sharing this with young children, see here >
How can younger children help make it?
They can help measure out the cottage cheese and mayonnaise as well as adding all the ingredients to the bowl. If you wanted to let them having a go chopping the celery (under your supervision), I recommend this child-safe knife.
Can I Store Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato leftovers?
You can store any Tuna and Cottage Cheese salad leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days (make day + 1).
More on safe food storage and reheating.
What diets is this recipe suitable for?
My Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato is suitable for gluten, egg and nut-free diets as well as vegetarians. It is NOT suitable for diary-free diets, vegans or those with a tuna fish allergy.
Adapting My Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato For Your Family
Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, which will help make it easier to eat together as a family.
Keeping Fussy Eaters Happy
If you have a picky eater they may prefer a customised version of this meal. Instead of the salad topping, they may prefer to have their jacket potato with some cottage cheese and tuna on the side, as well as some sweetcorn and celery sticks.
Making My Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato Suitable for Baby Weaning
So long as you don’t add salt to the salad before you dish theirs up, it is suitable for 6 months + (keep reading for how to serve). It’s actually a great choice for little ones as this meal is high in protein and other nutrients. However, tuna fish is high in mercury so it’s recommended infants shouldn’t have it too often.
If just one adult is eating with a baby or toddler, or even two young children, I would recommend making just the 2 adult serving quantity (instead of the 4 adult serving), which you can find in the recipe notes.
How to Serve to Babies & Toddlers
6 months +
Add some salad to your stick blender pot or food chopper (if you have that one that purées) and whizz into a purée. Scoop out some potato, mash it with a fork and add it to their plate, then top with the puréed salad. You can mix it together too if you like.
7-12 months
Add some salad to your food chopper pot. Use short sharp pulses to finely chop. Add some potato to their plate and mash it with a fork. Top with their salad, or mix it into their potato.
12 months +
Serve the salad as is, on top of some scooped out potato. When you chop the celery, make sure you are cutting into small enough pieces so that it doesn’t pose a choking risk. You can slice the celery sticks into thirds lengthways instead of half to ensure this before you slice them.
I’ve also added these notes to the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook.
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Tuna and Cottage Cheese Jacket Potato
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS See notes for 2 servings only
- 4 large baking potatoes
- Olive oil
- 2 x 125g tins tuna in spring water or 100g no drain cans
- 400 g cottage cheese
- 2 celery sticks halved lengthways, then sliced
- 198 g can sweetcorn
- 2 tbsps chopped chives
- 2 tbsps mayonnaise
- Salt & pepper to taste
See notes for baby & toddler
Instructions
FOR THE POTATOES
- Bake your jacket potatoes, how you usually would or use this air fry method: Scrub your baking potatoes and dry with paper towel. Prick several times with a fork and rub olive oil all over the skin. Air fry on 200°c / 400ºf for 45-50 minutes (preheat if necessary for your model), or until it feels soft in the centre when you stick a skewer in.
FOR THE SALAD
- Combine everything in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Once the potato is ready, slice open and add butter to taste followed by a generous amount of the salad topping. Serve immediately.
Notes
- 125g / 4.4oz tin tuna in spring water (or 100g no drain cans)
- 200g / ¾ cup cottage cheese (full fat if sharing with baby or toddler) / ¾ cup
- 1 celery stick, halved lengthways, then sliced
- 85g / ½ cup tinned sweetcorn
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- Salt & pepper to taste
Baby & Toddler
6 months +
Puree their salad serving. Scoop out some potato, mash it with a fork and top with the puréed salad (or mix together).7-12 months
Use a mini food chopper to pulse their salad and finely chop. Mash some potato with a fork and top with salad, or mix it into their potato.12 months +
Serve the salad as is, on top of some scooped out potato or on top of a small jacket potato. When you chop the celery, make sure it’s in small enough pieces to not pose a choking risk. You can slice the celery sticks into thirds lengthways instead of in half.FUSSY EATERS
Nutrition
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